It happened at Chernobyl, and it is happening here. The consequences of the multiple melt-downs are starting to appear. One of the first effects of “low-level” radiation is a rise in infant mortality. Statistics on infant mortality in the Pacific Northwest were analyzed and showed a significant upturn in the first weeks of the Fukushima crisis. (Janette D. Sherman, ND and Joseph Mangano) The original essay looked at eight cities: San Jose, Berkeley, San Francisco, Sacramento, Santa Cruz, Portland, Seattle, and Boise. The time frame of the report was the four weeks preceding and the ten weeks after the disaster.

Scientific American claims to debunk this analysis, criticizing its choice of cities and time period as “cherry picking”. However, Counterpunch’s statistician investigated further and his analysis strengthened the results. (Scroll down to headline “Post-Fukushima Infant Deaths in the Pacific Northwest”)

Counterpunch’s staff statistician analyzed all the northernmost Pacific cities, extended the period to ten weeks before and after, and compared deaths in 2011 with the same period a year before (to avoid any seasonal bias). They found a greater increase in infant mortality than the original essay.